Residents encouraged to download life-saving CPR app

Residents and business owners are being encouraged to download a mobile device app that stands to improve bystander response to cardiac arrest victims.

The app, known as “PulsePoint,” is available for Apple and Android phones and alerts CPR-trained citizens to someone nearby having a sudden cardiac arrest to reduce collapse-to-CPR times as well as collapse-to-defibrillation times by using real-time mapping of nearby devices.

“This service allows anyone to be notified when Lakewood Fire Department is responding to emergencies,” Fire Chief Scott Gilman said. “The app also contains information on how to do CPR and the location of registered AEDs. I would also encourage all businesses in the city to register their AEDs with the fire department so the location will show when an emergency occurs nearby.”

The app is designed for sudden cardiac arrests in public places while also providing a virtual window into fire and EMS activity in the community, offering a unique opportunity for civic engagement.

According to the American Heart Association, sudden cardiac arrests are the leading cause of death in the United States, killing nearly one person every two minutes with survival rates less than 11 percent.

Only a third of sudden cardiac arrest victims receive CPR from a bystander but the American Heart Association estimates that effective bystander CPR provided immediately after sudden cardiac arrest can double or triple a person’s chance of survival.

For more information on the app, visit pulsepoint.org.